ISLAMABAD, August 11, 2015: The Sindh Assembly continued to witness low attendance as the House passed a bill and adopted four resolutions during third sitting of its ongoing 21^st session on Tuesday, says Free and Fair Election Network in its daily factsheet.

The sitting started 95 minutes behind the schedule with 59 lawmakers (35%) present at the start and 61 (36%) at the time of adjournment.

The Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill 2015 was passed during the sitting while another education-related bill; the Metropolitan University Karachi Bill 2015 was introduced. Two other bills including the Sindh Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill 2015 and the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University at Lyari Karachi (Amendment) Bill 2014 were not taken up by the House.

The House also adopted four resolutions. Two of the adopted resolutions demanded the establishment of High Court Bench in Mirpurkhas and a University in Sukkur, while two other demanded improvement in maternal care facilities and ban on manufacture, import and sale of toy guns.

One of the resolutions was not taken up due to absence of mover.  The resolution urged the multinational oil & gas companies to allocate funds for social development in their areas of operation.

A female lawmaker from MQM withdrew her adjournment motion regarding removal of encroachments from flood hit areas following government assurance to resolve the issue. All five private motions remained unaddressed.

The House did not consider any of the nine amendments in Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh that appeared on sitting’s agenda.

Following are some key observations:

Members’ Participation in the House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 35 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1135 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
• The Speaker presided over the sitting for two hours and ten minutes while the remaining proceedings were presided over by the Deputy Speaker.
• The Chief Minister attended the sitting for 61 minutes.
• The Opposition Leader was present for 67 minutes
• Fifty-nine members (35%) were present at the start and 61 (36%) at the time of adjournment.
• A maximum of 66 members (39%) were present at one point of the sitting.
• The parliamentary leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-N and PTI were present.
• Four out of nine minority members attended the sitting.
• Three members applied for leave.

Output

• The Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill 2015 was passed during the sitting while another education-related bill; the Metropolitan University Karachi Bill 2015 was introduced.
• Two other bills including the Sindh Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill 2015 and the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University at Lyari Karachi (Amendment) Bill 2014 were not taken up by the House.
• The House also adopted four resolutions. Two of the adopted resolutions demanded the establishment of High Court Bench in Mirpurkhas and a University in Sukkur, while two other demanded improvement in maternal care facilities and ban on manufacture, import and sale of toy guns.

Representation and Responsiveness

• All five starred questions appearing on the agenda were taken up and responded by the relevant departments. In addition, the lawmakers raised 27 supplementary questions.
•  A female lawmaker from MQM withdrew her adjournment motion regarding removal of encroachments from flood drains following government assurance to resolve the issue.

Order and Institutionalization

• Eleven Points of Order (POs) consumed 12 minutes of the sitting

Transparency

• ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the members, observers and public
• Information on members’ attendance was available to the observers and public

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This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.